BRODHEAD - After a slow first quarter, the Brodhead girls basketball team turned up the pressure and came away with a 59-35 win over Palmyra-Eagle Friday night.
Brodhead (18-0, 13-0 in the Rock Valley South) led by just two points after a quarter of play before outscoring the Panthers 24-5 in the second to take a 31-10 lead into the half.
"In the first quarter, we came out very sluggish. It was Parents Night and Seniors Night, we did both of those tonight. So maybe we weren't as focused coming out as we should have been," said Brodhead coach Brad Pickett. "In the second quarter, we woke up a little bit, applied a little more pressure, got some turnovers. We were able to get some baskets off of those."
Three Brodhead players scored in double figures. Meg Duffield led the Cardinals with 14 points. Carly Mohns added 13, and Rachel Heller also contributed 12 for the Cards.
"Meg shot the ball fairly well, she had 4 threes," said Pickett. "When she's shooting well, good things happen. She wasn't thinking about it, it was just catch and shoot."
The Cardinals, who clinched the Rock Valley South championship on Tuesday in their win over Evansville, now prepare for an intriguing Rock Valley crossover game with East Troy on Monday. Both teams come into the game undefeated, with Brodhead ranked second in Division 3 and East Troy ranked third. Pickett said now that his team has clinched the conference championship, they're just focusing on taking it one game at a time.
"We just want to be playing our best basketball going into the tourney," he said. "We have a big game on Monday against East Troy, two of the better teams in the state going at it. We're just focused on that game. Once that happens, focus on the next one. Just have that game by game mentality."
Mineral Point 47, Darlington 40
MINERAL POINT - The Darlington girls basketball team was unable to overcome a solid defensive effort by Mineral Point, as the Redbirds fell to the Pointers, 47-40.
Mineral Point took a 16-9 lead after a quarter of play, but Darlington outscored the Pointers 10-6 in the second to draw within 3 going into halftime. The third quarter proved to be decisive, as the Pointers outscored the Redbirds by 10 to build a 13-point lead that Darlington was not able to overcome in the fourth. Darlington coach Riley Fitzsimons said Mineral Point's defense made it tough on his team.
"Defensively, they came out with pretty good pressure. We weren't really ready for it," he said. "That was the best game, defensively, I've seen Mineral Point play all year. We tried to do what we always and come back, but we came up short. We were also 12-27 from the free throw line. That doesn't help matters."
Cassidy Chambers led Darlington with 17 points, and Claire Scott chipped in 11 for the Redbirds.
"Chambers had 17, went over 1,000 points for her career, so it was her night tonight," Fitzsimons said. "She played tough the whole game, didn't come out one time."
Although Darlington (14-5, 8-4 in the SWAL) has now lost two of their last three games, Fitzsimons believes his team can learn from the losses and will be fine come tournament time.
"I think we just need to work on being prepared for the pressure and playing smart," he said. "I think once we get to the tourney, we'll be ready. Now we just know you can't take things for granted."
Monticello 62, Pecatonica 52
BLANCHARDVILLE - The Pecatonica girls basketball team was unable to overcome a slow start, as the Vikings fell to Monticello, 62-52.
Monticello led 16-7 after a quarter of play, and 32-17 at halftime. Pec coach Matt Bakkum said his team came out flat at the start.
"Monticello didn't really do anything, quite frankly. The first five minutes, we came out and we weren't there. They jumped on us 16-4, it was as if we weren't prepared," he said.
"The first five minutes we just dug ourselves too deep. When you dig that kind of a hole, it's difficult for any team to come back."
Pecatonica came out with more fight in the second half, and outscored the Ponies 17-12 in the third quarter. Each team scored 18 in the fourth to allow Monticello to get the win.
"We didn't really change anything in the second half. In the locker room, we just talked about being physical and mentally present. Using the emotion of the game and realizing this isn't working, gotta kinda put the pedal down and go," said Bakkum.
Michelle Francois led the Vikings with 11 points, and Madeline Fischer added 10 for Pecatonica. Marissa Berg scored 18 points to lead the Ponies. She was joined in double figures by Alyssah Kubly (16 points) and Samantha DeVoe (10 points).
Monticello (14-5, 8-2 in the Six Rivers East) has a non-conference game with Pardeeville on Tuesday. Pecatonica (8-11, 4-7) will play a Six Rivers crossover game on Monday. Bakkum said that, as his team approaches postseason play, they need to play more consistent basketball.
"Going into the playoffs, we can't be on one moment and off the next. We need to play four quarters of present basketball."
Brodhead (18-0, 13-0 in the Rock Valley South) led by just two points after a quarter of play before outscoring the Panthers 24-5 in the second to take a 31-10 lead into the half.
"In the first quarter, we came out very sluggish. It was Parents Night and Seniors Night, we did both of those tonight. So maybe we weren't as focused coming out as we should have been," said Brodhead coach Brad Pickett. "In the second quarter, we woke up a little bit, applied a little more pressure, got some turnovers. We were able to get some baskets off of those."
Three Brodhead players scored in double figures. Meg Duffield led the Cardinals with 14 points. Carly Mohns added 13, and Rachel Heller also contributed 12 for the Cards.
"Meg shot the ball fairly well, she had 4 threes," said Pickett. "When she's shooting well, good things happen. She wasn't thinking about it, it was just catch and shoot."
The Cardinals, who clinched the Rock Valley South championship on Tuesday in their win over Evansville, now prepare for an intriguing Rock Valley crossover game with East Troy on Monday. Both teams come into the game undefeated, with Brodhead ranked second in Division 3 and East Troy ranked third. Pickett said now that his team has clinched the conference championship, they're just focusing on taking it one game at a time.
"We just want to be playing our best basketball going into the tourney," he said. "We have a big game on Monday against East Troy, two of the better teams in the state going at it. We're just focused on that game. Once that happens, focus on the next one. Just have that game by game mentality."
Mineral Point 47, Darlington 40
MINERAL POINT - The Darlington girls basketball team was unable to overcome a solid defensive effort by Mineral Point, as the Redbirds fell to the Pointers, 47-40.
Mineral Point took a 16-9 lead after a quarter of play, but Darlington outscored the Pointers 10-6 in the second to draw within 3 going into halftime. The third quarter proved to be decisive, as the Pointers outscored the Redbirds by 10 to build a 13-point lead that Darlington was not able to overcome in the fourth. Darlington coach Riley Fitzsimons said Mineral Point's defense made it tough on his team.
"Defensively, they came out with pretty good pressure. We weren't really ready for it," he said. "That was the best game, defensively, I've seen Mineral Point play all year. We tried to do what we always and come back, but we came up short. We were also 12-27 from the free throw line. That doesn't help matters."
Cassidy Chambers led Darlington with 17 points, and Claire Scott chipped in 11 for the Redbirds.
"Chambers had 17, went over 1,000 points for her career, so it was her night tonight," Fitzsimons said. "She played tough the whole game, didn't come out one time."
Although Darlington (14-5, 8-4 in the SWAL) has now lost two of their last three games, Fitzsimons believes his team can learn from the losses and will be fine come tournament time.
"I think we just need to work on being prepared for the pressure and playing smart," he said. "I think once we get to the tourney, we'll be ready. Now we just know you can't take things for granted."
Monticello 62, Pecatonica 52
BLANCHARDVILLE - The Pecatonica girls basketball team was unable to overcome a slow start, as the Vikings fell to Monticello, 62-52.
Monticello led 16-7 after a quarter of play, and 32-17 at halftime. Pec coach Matt Bakkum said his team came out flat at the start.
"Monticello didn't really do anything, quite frankly. The first five minutes, we came out and we weren't there. They jumped on us 16-4, it was as if we weren't prepared," he said.
"The first five minutes we just dug ourselves too deep. When you dig that kind of a hole, it's difficult for any team to come back."
Pecatonica came out with more fight in the second half, and outscored the Ponies 17-12 in the third quarter. Each team scored 18 in the fourth to allow Monticello to get the win.
"We didn't really change anything in the second half. In the locker room, we just talked about being physical and mentally present. Using the emotion of the game and realizing this isn't working, gotta kinda put the pedal down and go," said Bakkum.
Michelle Francois led the Vikings with 11 points, and Madeline Fischer added 10 for Pecatonica. Marissa Berg scored 18 points to lead the Ponies. She was joined in double figures by Alyssah Kubly (16 points) and Samantha DeVoe (10 points).
Monticello (14-5, 8-2 in the Six Rivers East) has a non-conference game with Pardeeville on Tuesday. Pecatonica (8-11, 4-7) will play a Six Rivers crossover game on Monday. Bakkum said that, as his team approaches postseason play, they need to play more consistent basketball.
"Going into the playoffs, we can't be on one moment and off the next. We need to play four quarters of present basketball."
